Guardiola accuses Reds’ Mane of diving ahead of showdown
MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola accused Sadio Mane of diving after the Liverpool forward’s match-winning display against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Mane scored the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time at Villa Park on Saturday, but only after being booked for simulation in the first half.
When asked if he was aware of Liverpool’s dramatic win, Pep said: “It has happened many times, what Liverpool have done, in the last few years, it’s because (Mane) is a special talent. Sometimes he’s diving, sometimes he has this talent to score incredible goals in the last minute.”
Mane has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after earning two penalties—against Leicester and Tottenham—with Reds converting each time to win both games.
City visit Anfield next Sunday, where they have failed to win in the league since 2003.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Leicester moved up to third in the Premier League as the Foxes fine form continued with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace thanks to second half goals from Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy.
In the other game of the day, Cenk Tosun’s stoppage-time header earned Everton a 1-1 draw against Tottenham in a tie overshadowed by a bad injury to Everton midfielder Andre Gomes.
Dele Alli’s goal just past the hour mark appeared to have ended Tottenham’s long wait for a Premier League away win.
Spurs were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Son Heung-min’s tackle on Gomes resulted in the Portuguese midfielder suffering what looked to be a terrible leg injury.
NOT IN A GREAT PLACE WITH VAR: LAMPARD
LONDON: Frank Lampard believes the Premier League are setting a dangerous precedent with the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after technology intervened to give Watford a late penalty in Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Vicarage Road.
Lampard’s Chelsea were comfortably 2-0 up but they endured some nervy moments in the closing stages after Gerard Deulofeu converted an 80th-minute penalty for the hosts. “We’re not in a great place with it,” Lampard said. “If we are overturning decisions because one referee somewhere else thinks it was more of a penalty than the referee on pitch, then I think we are in a really dangerous place. You’re going to be tossing a coin every week.”